New Hampton Tribune

Moonshine Tap ready to roll

North Washington bar and grill offers revamped food menu, welcomes the community

By:

James Grob

Tammy Drew wants the Moonshine Tap in North Washington to be the kind of place where everyone knows your name.

“Everybody is welcome here,” she said. “I want families to come in, I want couples to come in, I want singles to come in — I want us all to mingle together and enjoy each other.”

Drew and her fiancé, Dean Boormann, have been hard at work cleaning and renovating the Moonshine Tap in preparation for the business’s grand opening — which will be at 7 a.m. Saturday morning, with Bloody Mary’s and a breakfast special.

The bar and grill has been around since 1981, and Drew and Boormann have taken it over and are scrambling to get it ready for this weekend’s re-opening. Previous owners were Helen and Tom Geerts. Boorman works for the Iowa Department of Transportation and is a lifetime resident of the area, while Drew moved here a little over a year ago, from Tampa, Fla., where she has many years of experience in the bar and restaurant business.

“I have done this my whole life,” she said. “Dean works and I’m in charge, that’s the rules around here,” she added, with a laugh.

Drew said she is thrilled to have the grand opening drawing near.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am for the Moonshine Tap to be opened, it’s got a lot of history, it’s very nostalgic,” she said.“I want people to feel like they’re at home here. I want them to come, enjoy a good meal, and be full when they leave.”

Drew is expanding and revamping the menu, and she and Boormann have put in a spacious dining floor and a small stage for entertainment. A DJ will provide a mix of music for the grand opening, and Drew said that live entertainment could also be a possibility in the future.

“It’s just going to be a down-home country place,” she said. “I want people to make memories here, I want to laugh with them and have a good time. I’m from the south, and the bottom line is, where I come from, everybody’s family.”

There will also be a row of video games and a pool table, and the Moonshine will feature a variety of beer and liquor, but Drew is most excited about the revamped menu she will offer. She said that it will include hamburger steak, a 21-piece shrimp dinner, a wing-ding dinner, a “Soup of the Day,” and a “Dessert of the Day,” among many other things.